By Central States Numismatic Society …..
The 77th Anniversary Convention of the Central States Numismatic Society will be held in Schaumburg, Illinois at the Schaumburg Convention Center and adjoining Renaissance Hotel during the last week in April. The event site is located at 1551 North Thoreau Drive in the northwest suburb roughly 10 miles from O’Hare Airport.
Registration for booth holders and Early Birds will open on Monday, April 25 and run from 3PM-7PM that day. The convention security room for early arriving booth holders and early birds will open at 1PM that day.
Lot viewing for the two Heritage Signature Sales, one for rare coins and the other for rare currency, will get underway at 10AM on Tuesday, April 26 in Nirvana A-B of the convention center. The multi-session Heritage sales will be held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The 300+ booth bourse area, which will include dealers from 35 states, will open from 12noon-6PM on Wednesday, April 27 for the Early Bird/Professional Preview Day. There is a $100 registration fee for that portion of the convention, payable at the event site.
Admission to the bourse area is complimentary during the regular pubic hours of 10AM-7PM Thursday, 10AM-6PM Friday and 10AM-5PM Saturday. There will be no Sunday bourse hours.
In addition to the bourse area and auction, the convention will include a 100-table educational exhibit area, where collectors will mount competitive displays to be judged for sponsored awards, the most high-profile of which is the Ruhama and Leon Hendrickson Best of Show Award. Winning exhibitors will be recognized at an awards breakfast on Saturday morning presided over by Exhibit Chairman Jack D. Huggins, Jr.
The United States Mint will be participating in the convention for the first time in at least a decade, operating a sales booth featuring its products during public convention hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Convention Chairman Kevin Foley said of the Mint, “We are particularly pleased to have the United States Mint be part of our event in Schaumburg this year. They are consistently a focal point of interest at any numismatic show they take part in and their presence will certainly enhance our 77th Anniversary Convention.”
A number of specialty numismatic groups will hold meetings in conjunction with the convention, including Women in Numismatics, the Fellowship of Christian Numismatists, the Elgin Coin Club, the International Organization of Wooden Money Collectors, the Chicago Coin Club and the International Primitive Money Society.
Kathy McFadden, the Executive Director of the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA), will be joined by David Crenshaw, Chief Operating Officer for the industry watchdog organization at 8:30AM on Friday for a National and State Legislative Update.
Among the highlights of the CSNS sponsored educational programs will be a Chicago History Educational Forum that will feature six sessions over a two day period Friday and Saturday. Subjects to be covered will be “Dark Horse: the Nomination of Abraham Lincoln in 1860”; “World War II on the Great Lakes: Arsenal of Democracy”; “Shadow Over Chicago: Al Capone and the Windy City”; “The Great Fair and the Birth of Modern America: the 1893 Columbian Exposition”; “George Pullman: His Town and Industrial Chicago and Union Stockyards: 150 Years of Spectacle and Innovation”.
Ray Lockwood, Education Director for CSNS, said of the forum, “We’ll have with us speakers with significant academic credentials presenting talks in their areas of expertise. Dr. Dominic Pacyga, Dr. Ann Keating, Dr. Ted Karamanski and Robert I. Girardi are all well known in the Chicago academic community and have lectured widely before local audiences. One of the great things about being Education Director for CSNS is that I get to put together presentations like this for our members. This will be a wonderful opportunity for our attendees to learn something about the history and cultural heritage of the area that will be our home at least through 2021.”
In addition to the Chicago History Educational Forum, the convention will include a Numismatic Editors’ Educational Forum and Workshop from 10:30AM to 12:30PM on Thursday. Presenters will include Beth Deisher, former editor of Coin World; Steve Roach, current editor-at-large for Coin World; David Harper, editor of Krause Publication’s Numismatic News; as well as Wayne Homren, editor of The E-Sylum, the electronic weekly newsletter of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS).
Bruce Perdue, President of CSNS, observed, v“Our hope is that in addition to exploring current issues affecting the world of numismatic publishing and news coverage, the forum will offer people involved in the production of local, state and regional publications an opportunity to meet with professionals in the field and enhance their own publications in the process. We’ve really put together an exceptional panel and one that I think should be hard to stay away from.”.
The forum will be moderated by Gerry Tebben, editor of the CSNS membership magazine, The Centinel.
Other presentations at the convention will include Steve Roach on “Ten (or so) Trends That Are Shaping the Coin Hobby Today”; John and Nancy Wilson speaking about “Secrets of Forming an Award Winning Educational Exhibit”; Wayne Homren and Len Augsburger on “The Newman Numismatic Portal: What It Is, How It Works and What It Can Do for You”. Also speaking will be Florida United Numismatists (FUN) President Randy Campbell, whose topic will be “Randy Campbell Looks Back (and Forward): Reflections on 50 Years in Numismatics”.
David Hunsicker will do a presentation on “Collecting Metal Advertising Savings Banks”, while Larry Briggs will talk on “The Threat of Counterfeit Coins from China”. Jeff Paunicka will talk about “Paper Money: a Confederate Perspective”. James Zylstra will talk on “Primitive Money Stories by a Missionary Who Served in Nigeria 1974-1978”.
Kevin Foley, long time Convention Chairman of CSNS and one of its past presidents said of the goings on at the convention, “CSNS is much more than simply one of the largest coin shows in the country. We are about much more than that. We are about learning, education, friendship and the whole range of opportunities an organization like ours can provide to the numismatic community.”
Patricia Foley, Bourse Chairman and Secretary for CSNS said, “Plans begins to be made years in advance for our conventions and upwards of 30 people contribute to the final result. Whether people are just beginning to form an interest in numismatics, are advanced collectors or dealers or are just plain curious, I know they’ll find our event to be a welcoming convention. In fact, those words constitute a central theme of our event – “A Welcoming Convention”. I guaranty that our event will not disappoint and will be an enriching experience for anyone who takes the time to come. Ours in a family oriented event. We’ll have a Young Numismatists Treasure Hunt on Saturday, as well as a Boy Scout Merit Badge Clinic. A CSNS convention is just plain an exciting place to be, There is simply no other way to express it.”
Complete details about the convention can be found at www.centralstates.info.
